There is no baseball fan instinct more sacred than taking a great moment, stretching it as far as possible, and daring the rest of baseball to argue. We are, as a people, allergic to letting something just be nice.
Which brings us to the latest discourse making the rounds. After Cristopher Sánchez put up one of the most dominant lines of the season – a complete game, 13-strikeout shutout of the Pirates on May 16 – PHLY Phillies tossed a perfectly reasonable question onto the timeline: Sánchez or Paul Skenes? And it’s closer than most around baseball might think because of the hype.
Phillies fans fueling debate with Pirates fans over Cristopher Sanchez, Paul Skenes
Sánchez was dominant against the very Pirates who employ Skenes, the reigning Cy Young winner, in a game that got the Philadelphia Phillies back to .500. His scoreless innings streak is now up to 29 2/3 innings, and it was a career-high in strikeouts. The next day, Zack Wheeler threw seven shutout innings against the Pirates while Skenes himself gave up five runs in five-plus innings. After that sequence of events, it’s a natural question, given that they were 1-2 in the Cy Young vote last year.
Fascinating debate.
— PHLY Phillies (@PHLY_Phillies) May 20, 2026
Sanchez or Skenes? (Last season & this years #'s)
Couldn't get much closer. We'll discuss on the show at 12 NOON today. Who ya got? ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/N9YqJX486s
The case for Sánchez (it’s not nothing)
By many very real measures, Sánchez has been the better pitcher in 2026. Through action on May 20, here are Sánchez’s MLB ranks among qualified starters:
- 2nd in innings pitched
- 4th in ERA
- 5th in xERA
- 2nd in FIP
- 2nd in fWAR
- 3rd in bWAR
- 7th in K%
- 10th in BB%
- 11th in W
He’s been a workhorse and a strikeout artist at the same time – a combination that, for years, was supposed to be something he couldn’t do. The book on him used to be “elite changeup, ground-ball machine, but doesn’t miss enough bats to be a true ace.” That book has now been put in the bottom of a metal trash can and set on fire.
He’s coming off a season in which he finished second in the NL in fWAR and first in bWAR. He was one of just three starters in all of baseball to log 200 innings. The Phillies tore up his old deal and gave him a new extension based on that work. And through about two months of the 2026 season, that deal is already somehow looking like even more of a bargain.
The argument isn’t crazy for Sánchez. He’s doing more in a very difficult NL East with fewer fireworks. He’s currently outpacing Skenes in pretty much every category.
The case for Skenes (which is also, uh, very strong)
Skenes is 23-years-old. He sits 97+ with his fastball. And before his blowup against the Phillies, he had an ERA under 2.00, which is where he ended both his rookie year in 2024 and last season. His walk rate is in the 98th percentile. His strikeout rate is in the 92nd percentile. He gets tons of chase. He doesn’t get hit hard. The only thing he actually doesn’t do at an elite level is get whiffs, but he did do that last year, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if that changes by the end of the year or even by the end of May.
That sub-2.00 ERA in each of the last two seasons (and the now 2.06 career ERA) is what makes his case particularly strong. It’s supported by peripherals, and even though Sánchez has been in the league longer, Skenes has a longer track record of dominance. He’s been both brilliant and historic in how he’s started his career.
The honest answer
This is where there’s nuance. While that’s been apparently banned on social media, it still exists, and the reality is that Sánchez has been the better pitcher in 2026 to this point. Skenes is still probably the better pitcher. But that’s not a slight!
Both of those thoughts can absolutely be true. Sánchez has earned every bit of the “Cy Young contender” label and deserves far more attention than he’s gotten. If voting happened today, that would be weird, but Sanchez would probably win. But the question of who has been better up to Memorial Day and who is the better pitcher are two different questions.
Skenes has the louder stuff, the (slightly) better underlying metrics, and the longer track record of pure dominance. Sánchez’s value relies heavily on volume and a command of a three-pitch mix that nobody has thrown more often since 2024.
In a vacuum, most front offices would still take Skenes if the question was who is pitching Game 7. And, again, that’s not a slight. It’s what being 23 with a 2.06 career ERA in 375 innings gets you.
Ultimately, it’s a fun debate, and one that most non-Phillies fans would expect to be so close. Phillies fans have spent the last two years watching Sánchez get treated like a B+ pitcher while others with louder names and worse numbers got more attention. The recent shutout is a reason to crack the windows and scream a little to anyone who will listen.
The Phillies have something rare in Sánchez: a homegrown, lefty ace signed to a long-term deal who keeps getting better. That’s the real story. Skenes will get his. He always does. But for a day in Pittsburgh, the conversation belonged to the guy in the road grays.
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